国内英语新闻:China issues flood alert in rainstorm-hit southern provinces

BEIJING, July 25 (Xinhua) -- China issued alert on 8 p.m. Saturday for flood in the country's Hunan and Jiangxi provinces which left dozens people dead or missing and displaced hundreds of thousands, and sent relief groups to the two provinces.

    As of 4 p.m. of Saturday, five people were killed, 10 were missing and about 64,000 were relocated by the widespread heavy rain in Hunan since July 23, said the Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters.

A view of a flooded village in Hongjiang county, Huaihua prefecture, central China's Hunan Province July 25, 2009. Five people died and 10 others were reported missing after heavy rain swept the province from Thursday to Saturday, authorities said.

The rain damaged more than 5,600 mu (373.3 hectares) of farm land and flooded 35,000 mu in Jiangxi.

    By 11 a.m. Saturday, average rainfall in 10 counties of Jiangxi was more than 100 millimeters, while the maximum precipitation topped 215 millimeters in Luxi County.

A view of a flooded village in Hongjiang county, Huaihua prefecture, central China's Hunan Province July 25, 2009.

In Hunan, regions of more than 500 square kilometers braced for a precipitation of more than 300 millimeters, 2,000 square kilometers for a precipitation of 200 millimeters.

    The National Meteorological Center warned on Friday of rainstorms over the weekend in China's southern regions, including Sichuan, Yunan, Guizhou provinces, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and parts of Hunan and Jiangxi provinces.

A view of a flooded village in Hongjiang county, Huaihua prefecture, central China's Hunan Province July 25, 2009.